On-Line Encyclopedias, and Google, and Mooter, Oh my!

• HOW TO RESEARCH Using the Internet

WHERE DO I BEGIN?

Leann Cox 2007

There are many ways to find information on the internet.

Here are just a few!

• Search Engines

• On-line Encyclopedias

• Web Directories

What is a search engine?

• A search engine allows you to search a large database of Web pages by word, phrase, or subject.

• A computer or “robot” does the actual searching by matching your keywords, phrases or subjects with millions of sites on the web.

• General Web search engines contain over a billion records.

EXAMPLES OF SEARCH ENGINES:

• http://www.mooter.com/

Ask.com• http://www.ask.com

• http://www.google.com/

What is an on-line encyclopedia?

An on-line version of the traditional encyclopedia. It is excellent for answering quick questions and obtaining background information for research projects

INTERNET ENCYCLOPEDIAS!

• http://www.wikipedia.org/

• ENCARTA http://encarta.msn.com/

What is a Specialized Directory?

Also known as resource guides, metasites, cyber guides, webliographies, or a collection of links. These directories are collections of organized resources on a particular topic collected and maintained by humans. This is a good way to get expert information!

Some Examples of Specialized Directories:

• BUBL.LINK: http://bubl.ac.uk/link

• http://yahooligans.yahoo.com• Kidsclick: http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/KidsClick!

(Yahooligans and KidsClick are great ones for kids!)

Now let’s look at some research topics!

• What kind of Holidays are Celebrated in Russia? Christmas? The New Year? Fourth of July?

• Grandfather Frost and Snegurochka The Twelve Months

Use a search engine to get started!Let’s try “Mooter.”

• http://www.mooter.com/

Type “Russian Holidays” in the search box and Mooter will give you a “cluster”

or group of links that looks like this:

• All Results

• Russia

• Women

• Holidays

• Christmas

• Language

When you click on “holidays” from the cluster, this is an example of a website description you will find:

• Russian Holidays Russian holidays and russian traditions. Celebration of New Year (russian Christmas), Men's and Women's Days, Labor Day, The Victory Day in Russia ... Russian Culture. Russian Arts. University in Russia. Russian Holidays. Christmas in Russia ... Russian Holidays. The biggest Russian holiday is New Year (1 January ...http://www.2-russia.com/russian-holidays.asp - 

Let’s Check an On-line Encyclopedia (Wikipedia) as well!

• Just type “Russian Holidays” in the search box and click on the “search” arrow.

Your Wikipedia search for “Russian Holidays” will lead you here. Click on

the blue links for more information.

• Official holidays• New Year (Новый Год) and Christmas

(Рождество)• The Russian New Year is celebrated January

1st. Many Russians still celebrate Old New Year on January 14th. January 14th corresponds to the first of the year according to the Julian calendar, which was used in Russian until 1918. It differs slightly from the Gregorian calendar used by most of the world. After the Russian Revolution of 1917,

Russian Holidays cont’d

all religious holidays, including Christmas were banned, so to many Soviet people the New Year was the biggest holiday of the year. Since 1992 Christmas has been openly observed in Russia and now the New Year's celebration usually flows directly into the celebration of Russian Orthodox Christmas observed on January 7. However, New Year remains the most important holiday for most Russians

» Wikipedia

LET’S TRY A DIRECTORY!Go to the “Yahooligans” site listed below:

http://yahooligans.yahoo.com/

Type “Russian Holidays” in the search box

Then click on “search.”

Yahooligans will find a group of links on Russian holidays and culture!

 

Here’s a sample of what you will see!

RUSSIA• Welcome! If you are looking to immerse yourself or your

child in Russian culture we have the resources for you here. The CULTURE and KIDS PAGE sections contain Russian culture at your fingertips. You can learn some basic Russian culture without leaving your computer screen. The EVENTS section contains listings of Russian Cultural Events around the country from Faberge egg exhibitions to the Moscow Ballet. This section is updated frequently to keep you informed of the most current happenings we've discovered.

Yahooligans cont’d

• We are always looking to add to this list, so please CONTACT US if you know of a great resource in your area. The LINKS section contains links to websites we've found informative and think our readers will also. And PRODUCTS contain what we consider to be the finest selection of culturally enriching items available. Perhaps building a church with Russian (onion domed) building blocks

Yahooligans cont’d

or reading a book about Russia to your child will provide you with an opportunity to discuss your child's rich cultural heritage.

RESOURCES contains regional 'permanent' Russian activities, such as Russian Cultural Centers, Language schools, etc.!

CONTINUE YOUR RESEARCH!

• You can use these same tools to research American Holidays and compare!!!

You might want to use the information you have gathered to answer a research question such as: How do Russian and American Holidays compare?

Russian New Year’sUS New Year’s

JUST REMEMBER!

• Search Engines are good for general topics but may contain millions of sites

• On-line Encyclopedias are a good starting point containing concise information on a special topic on a few pages.

• Directories will lead you straight to groups of sites on a special topic eliminating a lot of unnecessary sites and information.

Works Cited:

Hock, Randolph. The Extreme Searcher’s Internet Handbook. Medford: Cyber Age Books, 2006.

"Holidays." Kids Culture Center. November. 2007. Yahooligans. 4 Aug. 2006  <http://www.kidsculturecenter.com/russia/russ_holiday.htm>.

"Lacquer Boxes." The Russian Folk Art. 2006. Artrusse . 11 Nov. 2007

     <http://www.artrusse.ca/index_en.htm>.